


Scars and Other Stories

by restrained_ubiquity



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Female Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 00:05:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3588918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/restrained_ubiquity/pseuds/restrained_ubiquity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Find someone that will hold you tight enough for all your broken pieces to fit back together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scars and Other Stories

**Author's Note:**

> First off, yes, I “borrowed” the title from The Fray album. Second, I have had “Be Still” from aforementioned album running through my head while writing this. If you haven't heard it, you should. https://youtu.be/Vtp-p7qFI2I  
> Per usual, Regina-centric because she’s just awesome. I blame any glaring errors on lack of sleep and heavy doses of cold medicine. Let’s give it a go.

It was well past midnight before Emma and Regina made their way to the hotel.  They had been looking for Gold and when finally tracking him to New York decided it would be faster to divide and conquer.  They’d had a list of places he’d stayed, rat infested apartments, greasy diners, the list was long and neither wanted to be away from Storybrooke longer than necessary.  They were both exhausted and Regina was irritable, more so than usual.

“Unbelievable!” she turned on the light and through her coat on to the nearest chair.  “They gave us the wrong room.”

“What’s the big deal, Regina?”  Emma collapsed onto the bed, kicking off her shoes.

“I have no intention of spooning with you, Miss Swan.”

“Regina, its one night.” Emma was too tired to argue and her feet were killing her.  At this point she’d sleep in the bathtub.  “It’s a king sized bed, you won’t even know I’m here.”

“I’d better not.”  Regina headed towards the bathroom.  “I assume this place has running water,” she sneered as she slammed the bathroom door.

Emma rolled her eyes.  It was going to be a long night and after an unsuccessful day of Villain hunting she wasn’t in the mood for Regina’s mood.

Regina climbed into the shower and let the hot water beat against her skin.  The warmth didn’t stop her from shaking.  She needed to be alone, to calm down before facing Emma.  The woman could see right through her and although it was nice at times, she didn’t have the energy to explain anything tonight.  So she breathed in steam until her skin was red and pruned.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, Emma was in bed, her back was to Regina, but she appeared to already be asleep.  Regina dressed in the dark and slipped into the bed, careful not to disturb Emma.  She should have just told her.  It wasn’t fair how she had treated Emma.  She was trying so hard to change, not to be always on the defensive.  Tomorrow, she told herself.  First thing in the morning she would apologize to Emma and tell her everything.

But then the tears came.  And trying to stop them only made it worse. 

Emma stared at the trembling shoulders of the woman across from her.  Her hand stretched tentatively across the bed.  Her fingertips barely reached Regina’s shoulder, but the contact was enough for the former queen to go rigid.  Emma shifted inches closer so her hand could fully grasp Regina’s shoulder.  She shuddered, but didn’t pull away.

“I saw him.”  Regina’s voice was so weak, Emma barely heard her.  “Millions of people in this damned city and I saw _him.”_ She didn’t need to ask who the _him_ was.  Regina had seen Robin today and judging from her current state, she didn’t’ get the reunion she’d been hoping for for months.  Emma inched closer and was surprised when Regina grabbed her hand.  Emma expected her to shove her away, but she squeezed their fingers together instead.  Emma stopped, still giving Regina enough space to run.  She knew she walked a tightrope with getting the Mayor to open up.  “They were happy,” Regina finally let out.  “He was coming out of a restaurant with Marion and Roland and they were happy.”

“Did he see you?”

“No.”  Regina answered quickly.  “Roland looked at me, but I don’t think it registered.”  Her hand gripped Emma’s more firmly as she felt fresh tears fall.  “I should be happy for him, for them, but…”  The thought trailed off.  Emma gave her the moment she knew she needed.  “Does that make me more of a monster?”  Her last word was strangled in a sob Regina couldn’t hold back.

Emma was moving before she could even think of something remotely comforting to say to Regina.  There were no words that could fix her ruined heart.  Instead, she slipped an arm under Regina’s neck, the hand on her shoulder moved to her waist and she pulled Regina firmly to her chest, hooking their legs together for good measure.  Emma held her tightly, silently, as Regina shook and sobbed against her. She wouldn’t insult her pain with those annoying shushing noises.  Emma hated that.  People needed to cry unapologetically.  So she held on and every few moments that passed where she didn’t let go, she swore Regina curled herself closer.  They stayed like that, still, curled together on the edge of the massive bed until Regina’s breathing evened out and she lessened the grip on Emma’s arms.  There were bound to be bruises there in the morning.

“Sorry,” Regina said when she finally relaxed enough to realize how hard she had clung to Emma.

“Regina.”  Emma couldn’t help the annoyance in her voice.  “Friends.  Remember?”

Regina laughed softly as she rolled unto her back, scrubbing her face with her hands before looking at Emma in the dimly lit room.  “I’ve never had…friends.”

“Me either, not ones that stuck around anyway.”  Emma looked down at Regina.  The street light creeping through the curtains lit up the queen’s face.  She was tear-streaked, swollen-eyed, red-nosed, and somehow still stunning.  “You’re a mess,” Emma laughed, pulling at dark brown curls that were drying to Regina’s face, breaking the silence that was traipsing near awkward.

Regina smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.  She stared at the floor for a moment before making her way to the bathroom.  Emma sat up, tossed Regina’s tear soaked pillow across the room and replaced it with one of her own before scooting back across the bed.

Regina emerged moments later and slid back into bed, she was more relaxed than she’d been in quite a while.  Crying was therapeutic after all.  “Better?” Emma asked.

“Better,” Regina turned toward Emma.  “Thank you.  I—“  What was she going to say?  I’ve never cried?  Of course she had.  Never cried in front of anyone?  Well, that was extremely rare, but not unheard of.  Never had anyone hold her tight enough for all her broken pieces to fit back together?  Yes.  She could tell Emma that, except the blonde seemed to already know.

“You’re welcome.” 

* * *

The sun was already coming up and the supposed black out curtains were having very little effect.  “Urgh!” Emma groaned as she rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow.  That earned her quite the chuckle from Regina and Emma sacrificed an eye to see the brunette staring down at her.  Regina was propped up on her elbow, her body blocking the sun from Emma’s face.  She was backlit and glowing.  That’s when Emma saw the scar.  “What happened to your arm!?”  Emma raised herself, alarmed, and pushed closer to inspect the jagged red line marring Regina’s bicep and disappearing somewhere under her hair. 

“Flying monkey,” Regina said matter-of-factly.  Here in this city without magic, where they were nothing but stories in children’s books, it sounded absurd.  Emma barely blinked at her response though.  It would seem that the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming couldn’t be phased by much anymore.   

“It’s recent.”

“Last year.  When we were sent back.  A lovely welcoming gift from my dear sister.”  She didn’t elaborate on the part that Robin had saved her and subsequently staunched the bleeding and sewn her wounded arm.

“You cover it every day?”  Emma knew Regina was nothing if not put together.  Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had ever seen her without her hair and makeup done.  The scar, even concealed, was definitely something Emma would have noticed.

“Magic.”  Regina wiggled her fingers, knowing nothing would happen outside of the town line, but she was still disappointed with temporary the loss of her powers.  “I’d forgotten about it actually.  I never see them in Storybrooke?”

“Them?”  Emma hadn’t missed her slip. 

“I’m going to go find coffee.”  Regina spun away, but not before Emma grabbed her wrist and damn, she was strong.  

Emma pulled up so she was kneeling , holding Regina’s hand firmly against the mattress.  She pushed Regina’s hair over her shoulder and traced the newest scar to the nape of her neck.  Regina’s breath quickened as Emma’s finger tips moved up her sides, deftly pulling her tank top up to reveal several older marks that littered her back.  Emma snaked her hand around Regina’s waist and gently pulled her back down onto the bed.  Regina was trembling, but she didn’t try to stop Emma’s exploration although she couldn’t put her finger on why.  Maybe she just finally wanted someone to _see_ her.  She let out a shaky breath as Emma’s fingers found the thin white lines on her breasts and stomach.  “Regina,” Emma whispered her voice and eyes full of concern and questions.  Her hand splayed across Regina’s bare stomach.

“My husband.”  The answer was too honest for Emma to question and the blonde’s eyes widened in alarm.  “And don’t you dare tell your mother.  I’ve ruined enough of her life without destroying the perfect memory of her father.”  Regina roughly pulled her top down, covering her breast and crossed her arms over her stomach.  That was the Regina Emma was used to: orders and unveiled threats.  Even without her magic, half-naked and vulnerable she was in control.  Emma only nodded her understanding and she felt Regina relax instantly under her hand.

She moved her attention back to Regina’s face, swiping her hair to the side and rubbing the crease at Regina’s temple.  “Fell off a horse,” Regina chuckled at the memory.  She’d been riding with her father; trying to impress him by making a jump her horse had no intention of completing.

“You ride?”  Emma asked, surprised.  She couldn’t picture designer dresses and Jimmy Choo’s on a horse, but she was discovering there was much about the former queen that she didn’t know, that no one knew.

Regina nodded absently, enjoying the moment of being lost in the memory.  “I haven’t in years, but yes.  I was actually really good.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Finally Emma ran her thumb over the scar above Regina’s lip.  Regina’s eyes fluttered closed, her smile faded.  “My mother.”  The disdain was evident in her voice.

Emma wasn’t surprised by that omission.  Her brief time with Cora was more than enough to see the malice in the woman.  It wasn’t hard to imagine her striking her daughter, or worse.   “You don’t hide it.”

“No.” Regina lay with her eyes closed, hands folded over her stomach.  Emma pressed on.

“How old were you?”

“Seventeen.  It was the night she killed Daniel.  I fought her.”  Regina opened one eye and grinned at Emma, stretching the scar.  “It was the first time I won.  Worth the scar.  Plus she _hated_ the fact that her to-be-queen daughter was disfigured.  So I let it show to spite her.  I think part of me hope she would see it and feel guilty, but I don’t think she ever did.”  Emma’s hand still rested on the side of Regina’s face.  She felt the other woman’s thumb running over the barely there scar at her pulse point, but she remained silent.  Only one other person knew the origin of that particular story and she knew he’d keep her secret. 

Regina expected Emma to give up, to think she fell back to sleep, to go get the coffee that they were both going to need for the long drive back home.  What she wasn’t expecting was to feel soft lips against her neck, and Emma’s head settling into the crook of her shoulder.  Regina turned her face away from Emma and closed her eyes against the sun.  Emma’s arm made its way across Regina’s waist, slipping easily between the brunette’s crossed arms. 

“Emma, I’m sorry.”

“Regina, I already told you to stop ap—“

“Not for last night,” Regina interrupted.  “For the curse.  I don’t think I ever apologized to you.  You were a baby.  I ruined your life before it had a chance to start.”

“I think…”  Emma took a deep breath.  Although her childhood wasn’t pleasant, she didn’t have scars to mark her stories.  And although she had many reasons to hate the woman next to her, she had never been able to.  “I think somehow it all worked out.  It sucked not having a family, I’m not going to lie, but it wasn’t _all_ horrible.  I have them now.  And besides, if you hadn’t come here, Henry…Henry might have bounced around the foster system like I did.  Instead, you found him.”

“Gold found him.”

“Fine, Gold found him,” Emma sighed, her breath warm against Regina’s neck.  It was exasperating at times trying to show Regina her un-evil side.  “But _you_ raised him, and _you_ loved him.  _You_ gave him a home even though you knew he could potentially ruin everything for you.”

“He saved me.”  Regina found Emma’s hand and squeezed. 

“Me too,” Emma smiled, but her voice was thick with sleep.   “And he’ll find your happy ending.”

“Maybe he already has,” Regina whispered, but only to herself as Emma was already asleep in her arms.  She settled further in to the pillows, careful not to disturb the woman curled into her side.   A few more hours of sleep wouldn’t hurt either of them. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a little kudo. They make me smile. Plus I'm sick and you should want me to feel better. ;)


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